Cops corner land cons

ALVIN CHIINGA, Lusaka
REMINISCENT of a scene in a Hollywood movie, armed officers of the elite Police criminal crack squad commonly known as C5 yesterday stormed the Zambia Daily Mail head office on Longolongo Road in Lusaka and arrested five suspected con men.The plain-clothes police officers fired a warning shot as they effected the arrest of the three men and two women whom they waylaid in the car park.
Daily Mail workers and clients scampered for safety as the police officers ordered the suspects out of a white Mercedes Benz car registration number BCA 1754.
The suspects were ordered to lie down as the police conducted body searches before searching the luxury car.
The suspects were later whisked away to Lusaka Central Police Station.
Lusaka Province commissioner of police Nelson Phiri said the five were apprehended after a tip-off from members of the public.
Mr Phiri said the suspects have allegedly been swindling people on the pretext that they have pieces of land for sale.
â€œWe have five people in custody in connection with what happened at the Zambia Daily Mail headquarters and they will appear in court soon,â€ he said in an interview yesterday.
Mr Phiri said two people have so far complained to police that they were swindled out of K40,000 each through fake land purchases.
And a Zambia Daily Mail sales executive, who sought anonymity, said that the suspects have been coming to the companyâ€™s advertising department bringing numerous adverts for some time.
The sales executive said that she â€œsmelt a ratâ€ when one of the suspects would always change the name of the person advertising every time he brought an advert.
A security guard who was manning the entrance at the Zambia Daily Mail premises, said the police officers were trailing the suspects and drove into the company premises shortly after the suspects arrived.
She said the police officers fired a warning shot when the suspects hesitated to come out of the car.
She saidÂ everything happened â€œin theÂ twinkling of an eyeâ€ leaving both the onlookers and victims shocked.